National studies have previously named Round Rock one of the safest cities and best places to live in Texas. But a new study paints the city in a less than favorable light.
A new study by CarInsurance101.com found that among small U.S. cities, Round Rock has the sixth highest rate of adults who binge drink. According to the study, 21.8% of the population are considered binge drinkers.
Just one other small Texas city cracked the top 15. League City, a small Houston suburb, ranked No. 13, with 20.8% of the population classified as binge drinkers.
According to the study, 20.9% of Austin adults binge drink, putting the city in 10th place among the top 15 largest cities with the worst drinking problem.
The study analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC defines binge drinking as a man consuming five or more drinks and a woman consuming four or more drinks in a two-hour span.
Binge drinking has been on the rise over the last decade, especially among women, according to the study. More than 40 million Americans or one in six adults indulge in binge drinking.
Since 1999, the national age-adjusted fatality rate from causes directly related to excess drinking has increased by 66% for women, according to the report. That is compared to a 35% increase for all adults.
Binge drinking kills about 88,000 Americans from both direct and indirect causes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The report also found that adults in cities with high rates of binge drinking also reported being healthier overall. In Round Rock, 90.3% of adults reported good physical health, the report said.
In October, Williamson County ranked as the seventh healthiest place to live in Texas among all of Texas’ 254 counties, according to the America’s Healthiest Places study.
Williamson County also continued a 10-year-long streak of being ranked among the top-three healthiest counties in Texas by the 2019 County Health Rankings.
The CDC lists several solutions to curtail binge drinking including increasing alcohol taxes, limiting the number of retail alcohol outlets in a particular area, enforcing laws against underage drinking and alcohol-impaired driving and holding retailers responsible for the harms caused by illegal alcohol sales to customers.
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